I spent years buying bad budget earbuds. The Soundcore Liberty 4 NC fixed a part of my day I'd given up on — for a quarter of an AirPods price. Here's the honest case for buying cheap.
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I want to be normal about a pair of $60 earbuds and I physically cannot. I bought the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC on a whim during a bad week — I'd been commuting an hour each way with a pair of $19 buds that hissed, fell out on the escalator, and made everyone on a call sound like they were talking through a fish tank. I was not expecting to feel feelings about the replacement. Reader, I felt the feelings.
The first time I turned noise cancelling on, on a packed train, the whole carriage just… dropped away. That low engine roar you stop noticing because you can't do anything about it — gone. I actually looked up like something had happened. Something had: I'd spent a third of an AirPods price and gotten most of the way there.
First, a moment of silence for my earbud graveyard
I have bought so many bad cheap earbuds. The gas-station ones. The ones with 40,000 five-star reviews that all somehow say "good for price 👍". The pair that lasted exactly until the first rainy bus stop. I'd genuinely decided that "cheap earbuds" and "earbuds I don't resent" were two different product categories that would never meet. So when people kept telling me the Soundcore line was different, I rolled my eyes. I was wrong and I'm telling on myself so you don't waste the years I did.
The pair that actually stuck: Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
Here's what a normal week with them looks like. Morning commute: noise cancelling on, podcast, the train disappears. Gym: they stay in — I do burpees, they do not launch across the room. Work calls: I tap once, they switch, people can hear me. Walk home: I flick to the transparency mode so I can hear a car coming without pulling a bud out. That's the whole pitch. They just quietly do the job in every part of my day, which is the highest praise I have for any gadget.
The noise cancelling is the headline and it earns it — not literally AirPods-Pro-level, but close enough that on a train or a plane you will not be doing the math on the difference. Battery gets me through several days of commuting between charges. There's an app with an EQ if you're the kind of person who tweaks (I bumped the bass and never opened it again). And they're comfy for the full hour, which my old ones absolutely were not.
The honest part, because I promised: call quality is fine. In a quiet room you sound great; on a windy street corner you sound like you're on a windy street corner. And the app wants to onboard you like it's a new job. Neither of those things has ever once made me want the $19 pair back.
Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
The one I'd hand a friend with a straight face. Strong ANC, real bass, multipoint, all-day battery — for a third of the flagship price. Dips under $80 constantly, so grab it on a dip.
+ Noise cancelling that genuinely quiets a commute
+ Bass with actual body — not the thin cheap-earbud sound
+ Multipoint: switches between phone and laptop cleanly
+ All-day (multi-day for me) battery
+ Regularly on sale under $80
Cons
− Call quality is fine, not flagship
− The app is more than most people need
− Not as seamless as AirPods on an iPhone
"But are they as good as AirPods?" — okay, let's actually talk
No. And also: for most people, who cares. The AirPods Pro 3 are better — a little cleaner, the noise cancelling is a touch stronger, and if you live inside an iPhone they do magic tricks: instant switching between your phone, iPad and Mac, hands-free Siri, find-my-when-you-lose-one, even hearing-aid and heart-rate stuff now. If that ecosystem is your whole life, they're worth it and you already know it.
But be honest with yourself about what you're paying for. A big chunk of the AirPods premium is the ecosystem glue, not the sound. If you're on Android, or you just want great earbuds without the tax, the Soundcores get you 85–90% of the experience for a quarter of the money. I'd rather have the $190 difference. That's not me being cheap — that's me being right.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
The upgrade pick — but only if you're deep in Apple's world. Best-in-class switching, ANC and the hearing-aid/heart-rate tricks. You're paying for the ecosystem as much as the sound.
There's a sensible in-between if the Soundcores feel too budget and AirPods feel too expensive: the Sony WF-C710N. It's roughly half the price of Sony's flagship with noise cancelling that's shockingly close, and Sony's sound tuning is lovely. It's the pick if you want a brand-name safety net and a slightly more grown-up sound without going all the way to $250.
Sony WF-C710N
The tasteful middle. Half a flagship's price, noise cancelling that's surprisingly close, and Sony's genuinely nice tuning. Buy if 'budget' scares you but $250 does too.
Buy the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC. It's the pair I actually use, it fixed a part of my day I'd given up on, and it costs about what a nice lunch-for-two does. Save AirPods for when you're genuinely all-in on iPhone — and even then, wait for a sale.
Best for: Anyone who commutes, works out, or just wants their day to be quieter — on a real budget.
If you want to see how these stack against everything else I'd actually recommend, I keep a running shortlist on the best wireless earbuds page, and the whole audio buying guide if you're also eyeing headphones or a speaker. No 200-item lists — just the stuff worth your money.
Quick answers
Are the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC good for the gym?
Yes — they're my gym pair. They stay put through jumping and lifting, and the transparency mode is handy when you want to hear the rack next to you. They're sweat-resistant enough for a normal workout; just don't take them swimming.
Do they work with an iPhone, or only Android?
They work fine with both over Bluetooth — pairing, playback, ANC, calls, all normal. What you don't get on iPhone is the AirPods magic (instant device switching, hands-free Siri, Find My). If you don't care about those, you won't miss them.
Is the noise cancelling actually good or is that marketing?
Actually good. It won't fully match a $250 flagship in a side-by-side, but on a train, bus or plane it kills the constant low roar that tires you out — which is 90% of what people want ANC for. In a silent library the difference to premium buds shows more.
Should I just wait for a sale?
You can, and they go on sale a lot — under $80 is common on big sale days. But even at the ~$99 list price I'd have paid it happily. Check the current price on the link; if it's already discounted, that's your sign.
